My Manor

Regardless of Cindy Clive's father's pilgrimage-like reaction upon seeing the piece of beef, Jiang Hai drove back to his manor after watching Cindy Clive walk into her house.

Premium A-grade beef is not just about the quality of the meat itself; it represents a noble mindset.

People who can afford to eat such a delicacy are often wealthy. It symbolizes status more than the price of the food.

Take this top-grade marbled beef, for example. Even if it's priced at $400 per pound, can Americans truly not afford it? It may not be feasible to eat it every day, but once a month or once a year? Absolutely.

The key issue is not affordability; it's availability. This type of beef is not sold on the open market.

In major supermarkets, the best beef you'll find is only of the "Choice" grade. You won't even see "Select," let alone "Prime."

And if supermarkets don't carry it, you definitely won't find it at local markets.

This beef has only one source — it is exclusively supplied to top-tier Western restaurants.

Typically, this beef may cost anywhere from $300 to $400 per pound. But once it's served in a high-end Western restaurant, the price skyrockets. Moreover, you're not just ordering a steak; you're ordering an entire dining experience.

A three-course meal with premium A-grade marbled steak as the main dish typically costs $998.

That's nearly $2,000 for two people. It's no wonder that few are willing to pay for such a meal.

But for Jiang Hai, meat is just meat. While others meticulously raise and slaughter their cattle to produce marbled meat that accounts for no more than 5% of the yield, Jiang Hai's cattle, despite rough breeding methods, achieve a 10% marbling rate.

This is what you call "a cow that shines".

Though he must sacrifice his own blood to achieve these results, Jiang Hai believes it is worth it.

"The scales are almost full. I hope I won't need to bleed for the next level," Jiang Hai muttered to himself after returning home.

While taking a shower, he glanced at the tattoo of a giant python in the mirror. The scales of the python had nearly covered its body.

Thanks to not bleeding during the winter, the scales had grown at a rate of eight per day. Now, only a small portion of the tail remained unscaled.

"I wonder what will happen after the next advancement," Jiang Hai thought. He couldn't help feeling a twinge of anticipation.

The next morning, Jiang Hai got up early, went for a run, and then headed out to sea with Robbins and the crew.

The sailors Jiang Hai hired weren't meant to lounge around — they had work to do.

The sea cucumber seeds Jiang Hai ordered were expected to arrive around mid-January, likely between the 15th and 16th.

Before planting those seeds, Jiang Hai needed to clear out most of the fish in the designated breeding areas and sell them.

This was to create space for the fish he planned to raise later. The current fish population was too diverse.

Some fish were valuable, while others were not. If they weren't caught, the sea cucumber seeds would become fish food.

Sea cucumber seeds themselves aren't too expensive, but Jiang Hai's fish fry would be a costly loss if they became prey.

Of course, Jiang Hai wasn't planning to catch every fish. He left the coral reef areas untouched, as the fish there were part of a natural ecosystem he didn't want to disrupt.

Many fish near the reefs rely on them for survival, including low-level snappers, shrimp, and crabs. These prey species attract predatory fish, keeping the ecosystem balanced.

Jiang Hai wasn't worried about these fish affecting his breeding grounds.

As for the fish further out at sea, Jiang Hai aimed to catch around 80%. That was more than enough to reduce competition for his new stock.

Robbins had previously estimated that Jiang Hai's fishery held fish worth tens of millions of dollars. Even after deducting the coral reef areas, Jiang Hai's fish were still worth around $6 million.

Catching 80% would still bring in $4.8 million. Not a bad haul.

That morning was like the previous few days. Jiang Hai's boat had barely been out for half an hour when they found a large school of fish below.

Without hesitation, they began fishing.

With experienced fishermen on board, Jiang Hai and Philemon no longer needed to oversee the process. The crew worked efficiently, hauling in nets weighing several tons in less than half an hour.

Jiang Hai's main task was to count the catch — calculating the weight of high-quality fish, ordinary fish, shrimp, crabs, and other seafood.

Some of the shrimp and crabs weren't sold because Jiang Hai loved eating them himself.

Some might say Jiang Hai should sell everything to maximize his earnings, especially since he was short on money.

But Jiang Hai wasn't the type to deprive himself of life's pleasures. He believed that money would come back to him eventually.

His priority was to cover his first-year taxes. After that, he was confident his cattle would provide a satisfactory return.

By noon, the four storage holds of Jiang Hai's fishing boat were full. He returned to the harbor, earning $60,000 from his morning catch.

In the afternoon, they went out again, hauling in several more nets.

By evening, the four holds were full once more, bringing in another $65,000.

That day's total income was $125,000. After deducting diesel and meal expenses, Jiang Hai's net profit was around $100,000 for the day.

Of course, since the fish originally belonged to Jiang Hai, it was essentially free money. However, he still had to pay bonuses to the crew.

As it was their first time working together, Jiang Hai decided to be generous, handing out a total of $10,000 in bonuses — equivalent to 10% of the net profit.

The five fishermen split the bonus evenly, with each receiving $2,000.

This made the crew very happy.

Even Enol Russi and Andrew Christian, who were normally reserved, couldn't stop smiling.

Tommy Charles and Maren Rupert, both white men, were equally pleased. They had never encountered a boss who paid so generously. Their confidence in Jiang Hai grew.

When Jiang Hai's boat returned to port, the crew helped deliver some of the reserved seafood to his house before heading home.

However, just as they left, Jiang Hai heard the doorbell ring.

Checking the security camera, he saw that the visitor was none other than his chief lawyer, Moses Adams.

"Mr. Jiang Hai, I've brought you some preliminary suggestions on how to handle last night's incident," Moses said with a polite smile.

He knew wealthy clients like Jiang Hai had little tolerance for a lawyer's absence during a crisis.

After Jiang Hai contacted him, Moses had flown in overnight. He slept on the plane and immediately began investigating the matter upon landing.

Though the situation had been tense, it was relatively straightforward to resolve.

Now, Moses was here to present his preliminary recommendations. Of course, the final decision was up to Jiang Hai.

"Come in," Jiang Hai called out, pressing the door release.

Although he was somewhat displeased that Moses hadn't been there during his initial trouble, Jiang Hai still welcomed him inside.

Hearing the gate unlock, Moses breathed a sigh of relief. He drove into the manor, parked his car, and walked to Jiang Hai's villa with a file bag in hand.

The moment he stepped inside, he caught a whiff of a strong fishy smell.

Before he could comment, two large dogs — Xiaobai and Xiaohuang — appeared from the side, eyeing him warily.

The dogs' intense gaze made it clear that if Moses took another step, they would attack.

Looking at the massive dogs, which were even bigger than wolves, Moses swallowed nervously.

"Mr. Jiang Hai, I… I'm here," he called out hesitantly.

About a minute later, Jiang Hai emerged from a distant warehouse, still adjusting his clothes.

Seeing Moses, Jiang Hai chuckled.

"These two don't let anyone in without permission. Xiaobai, Xiaohuang, go back to your nest."

The dogs obediently retreated, but Moses couldn't help but force a bitter smile.

He knew Jiang Hai was flexing his power — making it clear he wasn't pleased with Moses' delayed arrival.

Still, Moses knew better than to argue.

"Boss, I don't want to make excuses. But… I did bring you a gift. Take a look."